Firstly, some history

A public holiday in the UK is generally referred to as a 'bank holiday'.

The Bank Holidays Act of 1871 designated four bank holidays in England, Wales and Ireland (Easter Monday; Whit Monday; First Monday in August; Boxing Day in England and Wales and St Stephen's Day in Ireland) and five in Scotland (New Year's Day; Good Friday; First Monday in May; First Monday in August; Christmas Day).

In England, Wales and Ireland, Good Friday and Christmas Day were considered traditional days of rest (as were Sundays) and therefore it was felt unnecessary to include them in the Act.

The Act was repealed in 1971 and superseded by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which remains in force.

The name is now used as a blanket term for all public holidays in the UK as banks, government offices and most businesses are closed on these days, although an increasing number of smaller shops and larger retail businesses remain open.

Banks, government offices and most businesses are closed on Bank HolidaysCredit: PA

Public holidays in Britain comprise bank holidays declared by statute (as listed in the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, Schedule 1), by royal proclamation, and common law/customary holidays

(Good Friday and Christmas Day are not official bank holidays in England, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Royal proclamation is also used to move holidays that would otherwise fall on a weekend or that are moved for special occasions, or to create additional one-off holidays (such as for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012).

When a bank holiday happens to fall on a Sunday the following Monday becomes the day when the holiday is observed. This is known as substitute day or 'bank holiday in lieu'.

If the Monday is also a bank holiday, the substitute day moves to the following weekday. UK public holidays always move forward in the calendar, never backwards.

The August bank holiday always falls on the last Monday of August in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and on the first Monday of August in Scotland.

There are six permanent bank holidays and two public holidays every year in the UK.

School term dates 2017

Easter holidays: (last day of term) Friday, March 31 (Easter falls on Sunday, April 16)

Summer term 2017

Easter Monday bank holiday: Monday, April 17

School starts: Tuesday, April 18

Early May bank holiday: Monday, May 1

Half term break: Monday, May 29, to Friday, June 2

Summer holidays: (last day of term) Friday, July 21

Autumn term 2017:

School starts: Monday, September 4

Half term break: Monday, October 23 to Friday, October 27

Christmas holidays (last day of term): Friday, December 15

How can you maximise you annual leave?

Our – on average – 26 days of paid holiday per year have us Britons feeling more relaxed than employees in the USA (15 days) and Japan (20 days).

But we are almost a week worse off than our counterparts in France, Spain and Germany (30 days) when it comes to fleeing the office.

All the more reason, then, to make the most of your bank holidays.

Every British worker-bee can expect eight of these precious nuggets of downtime – nine if you live in Scotland; 10 if Northern Ireland is home. And with a little planning, these can be used to create a year of getaways which stretch that meagre allowance of 26 days to something far longer.